Open Connect to a Network by clicking the network icon ( or ) in the notification area.

Select your home wireless network in the list, and then type the network security key, if required.

You should be connected to the wireless network and have Internet access.

Note

If your home network is wireless, we recommend using a network security key. Not doing so could put your laptop at risk of unauthorized access by hackers or malicious software. For more information, see Why should I secure my wireless network?

We recommend that you use a homegroup to share files and printers because it's a much easier way to set up sharing. For more information, see the "Use a homegroup to share files and printers" section above.

Open Network and Sharing Center by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type network, and then click Network and Sharing Center.

If your network is listed as a Public network, click Public network, and then click either Home network or Work network.

If your computer running Windows 7 is joined to a domain, you probably won't be able to change the network location to Home or Work. In that case, click Change advanced sharing settings in the left pane and make sure the following options are turned on:

Public folder sharing (if you want to share files using your Public Documents, Public Music, Public Pictures, and Public Videos folders)

Printer sharing

Note

To use password-protected sharing, you must have exactly the same user accounts and passwords on both computers. This is usually not the case if you are using a work laptop and a home computer. (The password-protected sharing option is not available on domain networks.)

Accessing a printer

To use a printer that's connected to a home computer from your laptop, first turn on network discovery (if the printer is attached to a computer running Windows 7), and then make sure that the printer is shared.

Sharing files and folders

You can share files and folders in two ways: through simple file sharing—putting the files or folders into a common shared folder, or in-place file sharing—marking individual files or folders to be shared without moving them from their current location.

If any of your home computers are running a version of Windows XP earlier than Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2), you must upgrade them before you can set up sharing.

Run the Network Setup wizard on each home computer, if you haven't already done so.

When prompted, choose to enable file sharing. This creates a Shared Documents folder on each computer. Files in this folder are accessible to anyone on your network.

Notes

To open the Shared Documents folder, click Start, click My Documents, and then click Shared Documents.

In Windows XP, you can't share individual files. You have to share the entire folder. To share folders and their contents without moving them into the Shared Documents folder, go to the location containing the folder that you want to share, right-click the folder, and then click Sharing and Security. Click the Sharing tab, click Share this folder, and then click Apply.

The Shared Documents folder has been replaced with the Public folder in Windows Vista.

In Network and Sharing Center, click the chevron next to Public folder sharing, and then click one of the following options:

Turn on sharing so anyone with network access can open files

Turn on sharing so anyone with network access can open, change, and create files

Click Apply. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Files in the Public folder are now accessible to anyone on your network.

Notes

To open the Public folder, follow these steps: In the Documents folder, click the arrow next to Folders at the bottom of the left pane, and then click Public.

To share files or folders without moving them into this folder, go to the location containing the file or folder that you want to share, right-click the file or folder, click
Share, and then follow the steps in the wizard.

The Public folder has been replaced with individual Public folders for each type of file (Documents, Pictures, Music, and Videos) in Windows 7.

Open Advanced sharing settings by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type network, click Network and Sharing Center, and then, in the left pane, click Change advanced sharing settings.

Click the chevron to expand the current network profile.

Under Public folder sharing, click one of the following options:

Turn on sharing so anyone with network access can read and write files in the Public folders

Turn off Public folder sharing (people logged onto this computer can still access these folders)

Click Save changes. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Files in the Public folders are now accessible to anyone on your network.

Notes

To open the Public folders, follow these steps:

Click Start, and then click your user account name.

Double-click the Documents, Pictures, Music, or Videos folder, and then double-click Public Documents, Public Pictures, Public Music, or Public Videos.

To share files or folders without moving them into a Public folder, go to the location containing the file or folder that you want to share, right-click the file or folder, click
Share, and then follow the steps in the wizard.

To access files on a home computer, you can either log on as a guest (this means you will only have access to files in the Public folders), or, if you have a user account on that computer, you can log on using your account. For more information about user accounts, see User accounts: frequently asked questions. To access another computer, follow these steps:

Open Network by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type network, and then, under Network and Sharing Center, click View network computers and devices.

If you have a homegroup, double-click Homegroup, and then double-click the computer you want to access.

If you don't have a homegroup, double-click a computer's icon to see the files and folders that you have access to.

Notes

If your user name and password for the computer you are currently logged on to are different from those for the computer that you are trying to access, you might be prompted to enter your logon information.

If the other computer is set up to allow access to anyone on the network, you will be automatically connected to it but you will only have guest access. This means that you will only have access to files in the Public folders. You can automatically connect to another computer on the network using your logon information by storing your passwords. For more information, see Store passwords, certificates, and other credentials for automatic logon.

Open Connect to a Network by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Connect to.

Select your home wireless network in the list, and then type the network security key, if required.

You should be connected to the wireless network and have Internet access.

Note

If your home network is wireless, we recommend using a network security key. Not doing so could put your mobile PC at risk of unauthorized access by hackers or malicious software. For more information, see Why should I secure my wireless network?

Enabling file and printer sharing

Open Network and Sharing Center by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking Network and Internet, and then clicking Network and Sharing Center.

Click Customize.

On the Customize network settings page, click Private, and then click Next. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

On the Successfully set network settings page, click Close.

If your computer running Windows Vista is joined to a domain, you might not be able to change the network location to Private. In that case, under Sharing and Discovery, make sure the following options are turned on:

Public folder sharing (if you want to share files using the Public folder)

Printer sharing

Note

To use password-protected sharing, you must have exactly the same user accounts and passwords on both computers. This is usually not the case if you are using a work laptop and a home computer, so it's best to turn off password-protected sharing. (The password-protected sharing option is only available in workgroups.)

Accessing a printer

To use a printer that is connected to a home computer from your mobile PC, first turn on network discovery (if the printer is attached to a computer running Windows Vista), and then make sure that the printer is shared.

Accessing shared files and folders

You can share files and folders in two ways: through simple file sharing—putting the files or folders into a common shared folder, or in-place file sharing—marking individual files or folders to be shared without moving them from their current location. (In Windows XP, only folders can be shared this way.)

Note

The ability to share files and folders is not included in Windows Vista Starter.

If any of your home computers are running a version of Windows XP earlier than Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2), you must upgrade them before you can set up sharing.

Run the Network Setup wizard on each home computer, if you haven't already done so.

When prompted, choose to enable file sharing. This creates a Shared Documents folder on each computer. Files in this folder are accessible to anyone on your network.

Notes

To open the Shared Documents folder, click Start, click My Documents, and then click Shared Documents.

In Windows XP, you cannot share individual files, you have to share the entire folder. To share folders and their contents without moving them into the Shared Documents folder, go to the location containing the folder that you want to share, right-click the folder, and then click Sharing and Security. Click the Sharing tab, click Share this folder, and then click Apply.

The Shared Documents folder has been replaced with the Public folder in Windows Vista.

Open Network and Sharing Center by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking Network and Internet, and then clicking Network and Sharing Center.

Click the arrow button next to Public folder sharing, and then click one of the following options:

Turn on sharing so anyone with network access can open files

Turn on sharing so anyone with network access can open, change, and create files

Click Apply. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Files in the Public folder are now accessible to anyone on your network.

Notes

To open the Public folder, follow these steps:

Open Documents by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Documents.

Click the arrow next to Folders at the bottom of the Navigation pane, and then click Public.

To share files or folders without moving them into this folder, go to the location containing the file or folder that you want to share, click the file or folder, click
Share, and then follow the steps in the wizard.

To access files on a home computer, you can either log on as a guest (this means you will only have access to files in the Public folder), or, if you have a user account on that computer, you can log on using your account. For more information about user accounts, see User accounts: frequently asked questions. To access another computer, follow these steps:

Open Network by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Network.

Double-click a computer's icon to see the files and folders that you have access to.

Notes

If your user name and password for the computer you are currently logged on to are different from those for the computer that you are trying to access, you might be prompted to enter your logon information.

If the other computer is set up to allow access to anyone on the network, you will be automatically connected to it but you will only have guest access. This means that you will only have access to files in the Public folder. You can automatically connect to another computer on the network using your logon information by storing your passwords. For more information, see Store passwords for automatic logon.

A folder containing the shared folders and resources on the home computer will open.

Open Network by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Network.

When you are prompted to log on, in the User name box, type your work domain and user name, separated by a backward slash (for example: domain\username). In the Password box, type the password you use to log on at work.

A folder containing the shared files and folders on the mobile PC will open.